Those Days, The Present, The Future
by TyWRITEr195
Summary: They had known each other for over two years, and yet...something was happening, was it a bad? Was it good? Then, before they knew it, they were apart, all of the previous times...forgotten. But, lets start in the beginning, in a town where it all began.
1. Girl in the Forest

**He didn't want to leave...he was coming to like the new girl in his new town. After the fifth time of moving, Brendan lost his hope of settling down in a normal town and staying with friends that he could have had. He knew that he couldn't form any close bonds because it would be too hard to leave. He hated the feeling...but he couldn't resist her innocent smile.**

**Hey guys! This is the new and improved first chapter for those of you who read it before! I did some revising to make things a bit better, so tell me if it's good! And here we go!**

**May: 9 years old**

**Brendan: 9 years old**

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**New Town: Part One: Girl in the Forest**

It was a quiet town that was somewhat secluded from the rest. It was a calm place with only a few, very peaceful people residing in it. Littleroot Town was actually very normal, and there were a few small homes and one laboratory that all of the children adored.

"Hmm," the young girl hummed as she picked flowers from a small meadow next to her home. It was a beautiful day and she crouched down, observing each and every unique flower. Smiling, she picked yet another blossom and added it to her collection in her other hand.

Her name was May Maple, and she was one of the few children who lived in Littleroot Town. May was an unusually happy girl who always tried to find the good in things. She loved to collect flowers and she adored cute and cuddly things. Her father was the Petalburg City gym leader and her mother was Caroline, a sweet woman with brown hair and calming blue eyes.

In the distance, coming from not too far away, there came a hustle and bustle of a vehicle heading for the small town. The girl got up slowly and looked to the direction of the moving van, sighing, she stretched her legs. Her sapphire eyes were questioning as she patted her light blue sundress. With a shrug, she walked back into her home to show her mother her new collection of flowers.

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A large moving truck sputtered to a stop in front of a quaint home. Quickly the passenger door opened and a boy stumbled out and accidentally landed on his face. His name was Brendan Birch and he had jet black hair and some what intimidating mahogany eyes.

"Ow!" he yelled, getting up and rubbing his cheek.

He looked around and sighed, it was the fifth time he had moved in the year, and he was growing tired of it. He wanted to actually settle down somewhere instead of moving every time his father wanted to research some new, exotic, rare pokémon. He prayed for the day when he could actually make friends and spend time with them.

He had given up trying to make friends because he knew that his family would move again and again. He didn't want to form bonds and end up saying good-bye without really getting to know them. Sighing, he brushed himself off and walked to the back of the moving van. With a quick movement, he unlocked the titanium trunk and the door slid up with ease. Making sure that his mother was out of sight, he climbed in the back and searched around.

"Where are you?" he asked himself, moving boxes and looking every where.

All of a sudden a pair of golden eyes met his. "Aha!" Brendan laughed. Kneeling down, he pulled the pokemon out of the darkness and patted his head. He was a Poochyena that Brendan had befriended on their way to the new town. But, the pokémon was different than other Poochyena, unlike the other gray and black ones, he was a light brown color with blue and gold eyes instead of red and gold.

"Finally found you boy, I know you don't like it in here, but my mom said I couldn't bring you and I did. And if she knew you were here, she would make me get rid of you, so we're gonna have to be quiet and hide you somewhere, okay?"

With that the boy found his box of belongings which was actually empty. He opened it and placed the puppy inside. He whimpered a bit, not liking the small space, but he sat down anyway.

"Good boy!" he whispered, "don't worry, I'll take you out right when we get inside and play, but for now, I'm gonna close the box, alright?"

Poochyena growled, disliking the fact that he would have to be in yet another dark, and tight space. The boy quickly put a finger to his lips and closed the box slightly. With that, he picked up the container and jumped out of the moving truck. Once Brendan entered his new home, his jaw dropped open to see that the inside was better than he had imagined. It had spacious, open ceilings that arched, and a wooden railing on the stairs. There were amazing granite counter tops in an enclosed area with an island counter in the middle. There were stainless steel appliances that went along with the space, clearly stating that it was the kitchen.

A fire place jutted slightly out of the wall that was bordered with a light colored marble. Standing in the middle of the living room was his mother, clad in a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt. Smiling a bit, he quietly walked across the wooden floor and towards the stairs, not wanting to bother his mother.

"Oh, Brendan!" she cried as she saw him, "I was wondering were you were! Anyway, your room is upstairs, second door on the left, okay? Oh, what do you have in the box there, Honey? Do you need help with it? Here, let me-,"

"No, no," Brendan interrupted, turning away slightly, "I-I-I mean, no thanks, Mom, I got it. I'll be fine, it may look heavy, but it's really light. So, I'll see you later!" With that, Brendan left his mother speechless and zoomed up the stairs. Mrs. Birch frowned and shook her head, with a shrug, she strode outside to unload the rest of the boxes.

Gently closing his door, Brendan realized that his room was rather hot. Sighing, he placed the box down on the ground and went over to a window, sliding it open, a cool breeze flooded into his room. Smiling to himself, he turned back around to see that the cardboard box and his door were open. Brendan's eyes widened with horror realizing that his pokemon had escaped.

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"Mom, look! I brought you some flowers!" the girl said as she entered her home.

"Oh, thank you May! They're beautiful," her mother said as she gently took the flowers from her daughter's hand and placed them into a crystal vase. She smiled at her daughter and admired the gorgeous arrangement in the living room.

May leaned on the counter of her home and she spotted an empty vase. "I'll go and get you some more!" May said as she headed out the door.

As May exited her house, she saw a boy on the ground, apparently, he had fallen, "Hmm," May said, "Who is that?"

He was dressed in a red, plaid shirt and jeans. The boy quickly got up from the ground and brushed himself off, looking around suspiciously, he nodded and ran behind the moving vehicle. May laughed, "okay then." Shaking her head, she clasped her hands behind her back and headed for the forest.

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Brendan panicked as he searched for his missing pokémon. He had inspected the entire house, and even impossible places like in a toilet, and under a tissue box. He called and called to no avail.

"Poochyena," Brendan whispered angrily, "You better come out right now!"

Thinking into the situation, he grabbed his head and ran out the door. Looking around frantically, he noticed a brown figure disappearing into the forest. Immediately, he sprinted into the forest, not ready to lose his old friend again.

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May, swung her arms back and forth happily. Humming to herself she finally came to a large clearing filled with flowers of all kind. Smiling happily she skipped to the middle and crouched down to look at the flowers.

She was about to pick a blue daisy, when something else caught her eye. In the middle of a small patch of grass was pink blossom that had three smaller flowers protruding from it. May tilted her head and observed the strange flower. Slowly, she approached the oval plant and tried to pick it from the ground.

Surprisingly, the blossom would not come out of the terrain. This time, she pulled harder, but it still would not detach from the soil. Grunting with annoyance, she pulled with all of her might to see that the plant had a pink root…that was shaped like a cat?

The root hissed and quickly, May dropped the object on the ground. That was definitely not a flower. But what ever it was, it turned around and hissed menacingly at May. The young girl quickly backed away in fear and suddenly, the pink object pounced, its paws outstretched.

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Brendan leaned against a tree and tried to even his breaths. Sliding down he wiped the sweat off of his fore head and looked around. _Dang, where did that pokémon go?_ Suddenly, he heard a small crunching sound coming from behind him. Slowly, the boy crawled around the tree to see his Poochyena digging in the soil. The dirt spread all over the pokémon and its light brown fur became filthier and filthier.

"Ack! Stop that! You're making a mess!" Brendan cried, picking up his pokémon. As he patted Poochyena's fur, small clouds of dust floated into teh air. Finally, the pokémon returned to its normal color, Brendan placed Poochyena on the ground and folded his arms, "Don't ever run off again! You hear me?! Don't ever! Who knows what could have happened if some one else found you? Geez…"

All of a sudden, Poochyena began to growl. His lips curled over his teeth and he snarled viciously. Brendan frowned and placed him down gently, "What's wrong?"

Poochyena sniffed the ground and suddenly he turned on his heel and growled menacingly. It was already getting darker and the afternoon sun rays shone through the thick trees. "Poochyena, come on, lets get out of here. Mom might be worried about us." Poochyena ignored Brendan and continued to growl. All of a sudden there was a loud high-pitched cry for help. The pair looked to each other and frowned. Then Poochyena sprinted deeper into the forest.

Brendan's mouth dropped open and he looked around suspiciously, _what if that cry came from a dead person who was buried here? I can't believe that I am so paranoid!_ Shaking the thoughts from his head, he grunted and chased after his pokémon.

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Brendan and Poochyena burst into a clearing to see a brunette running around madly. Her arms were in the air and there were tears in her eyes.

"AAAHHHHH!!" she cried, "It's alive! The pink root is alive!"

Brendan frowned and looked to the small shape chasing after her. His eyes widened and he immediately took action. No doubt that the pink object was a wild pokémon. Pink or not, it was chasing an innocent bystander.

"Poochyena, use Tackle!"

May frowned looked on the other side of the clearing to see a boy around her age with a determined expression on his face. The Poochyena quickly charged after the shape and suddenly, it parted from chasing May. As it did, the girl slowed to a stop and put her hands on her knees and tried to even her breathing. _Hallelujah! Finally, a break…so tired._ The figure meowed in fright as the Poochyena growled and snapped at it. The pair ran in circles repeatedly and soon Poochyena was gaining on its tail.

The light brown pokémon was just about to bite down on the pokémon's backside, when all of a sudden; the pink shape darted toward May. But, before she could move out of the way, both of the pokémon jumped and slammed into her.

"Ack!" she yelled as they toppled to the ground. Shaking her head from the impact, May slowly rose from the flowers and blinked. She looked to her left to see the two pokémon lying on the grass with swirls in their eyes.

Right then and there, May realized that the 'pink root' was adorable. Gasping, she gently picked up the small pokémon and cradled it in her arms. Its fur was as soft as cotton and as May stroked it, the pokémon purred with delight.

"Are you alright?" Brendan cried as he ran across the clearing. When he reached her side, he realized that May was holding a pink and tan colored cat in her arms.

"Aw, isn't it cute?" May stated absent-mindedly, not realizing that Brendan was even there.

He frowned at the strange girl and laughed, "That's a Skitty right?"

"Huh?" May glanced up to see Brendan smiling at her, she frowned at his mahogany eyes and smiled back. "Y-yeah," she finally said, "I think so." She looked down to the small pokémon in her arms again, _so this is a pokémon. _

It was quiet for a moment and finally Brendan spoke, "Oh, and I'm Brendan by the way." He extended his hand towards her and smiled.

May placed the Skitty in her lap and took his hand and shook it, "I'm May," she gasped and pointed at him, "You're that boy who fell out of the moving van!"

Brendan's mouth dropped open and he rubbed the back of his head, "Ha, you saw that?"

"Where are you from?" she asked as she looked stroked the pokemon's fur, ignoring him again.

Brendan blinked, "Um, I'm from the Johto Region... my family moved here because my dad was transferred."

"Oh, I see." May nodded her head and smiled, "Well, I'm sure you'll like it here, it's very peaceful and the air is always so fresh!"

Brendan smiled and frowned at this unusually happy girl. He hated the thought at the back of his head, the thought that haunted him the whole way to the new town, leaving. He was beginning to like May. Brendan sighed as he realized that his vow to refrain from relationships was broken. Slowly, he knelt down next to his Poochyena and patted his head, waking the pokemon up.

"We'd better head home," Brendan said.

"Yup," May laughed, "new neighbor."

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**Well I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter!! Please REVIEW!!!!!! ;)**


	2. Star Gazing

**New Town: Part Two- Star Gazing**

Brendan opened the door to his house and looked around suspiciously. His Poochyena wriggled around underneath his shirt and growled.

"Quiet," Brendan whispered, clutching his shirt trying shush the pup. He growled a bit and finally stopped. Brendan then quickly entered his new house and tiptoed up the stairs to his room.

"Ah, Brendan," a voice came.

The young boy quickly looked up to see his father leaning against the banister higher up, staring at him. They stared at each other for long five minutes. Finally, they broke apart, and his father finally realized the unnatural blob coming from under his son's shirt.

"Son, what did I tell you about eating pecha berries? You know that you're allergic to them! They make your stomach all…like that!" he said pointing to his son's stomach.

"I know dad, so… I'll just go up to my room and put on that ointment so it won't spread, okay?" Brendan put on his best smile and slowly made his way towards his room. He was about to open the door when Poochyena's tail fell from the cover of the shirt.

Mr. Birch frowned and raised his eye brows, "Um, son…come here." He put his hand on Brendan's shoulder and dragged him back down the stairs. He led them outside and the professor folded his arms. After having another five minute stare-down, Brendan finally cracked. He let go of his shirt and Poochyena fell to the ground, yelping as he fell on his face. His father slapped his forehead and sighed heavily.

"Brendan, what did I tell you about keeping him? Your mother would kill the both of us! I specifically told you to let him go before we left! We can't keep him; I'm sorry son-,"

"NO!" Brendan cried, picking his pokémon up.

"You aren't even a trainer yet, how can you expect to take care of him?"

"Dad, please, I don't want to let him go, he's my buddy, I love him! Please," Brendan said, hugging Poochyena tighter.

His father simply stared at him, his face becoming softer and softer. He sighed and shook his head. "I have no idea what this is going to cause, but fine, you can keep him," Brendan's face lit up and he smiled brightly, he placed Poochyena on the ground and hugged his dad, "b-but," his father started again, "he better not make a mess, or he's gone. Got it?" Brendan nodded, happily letting go of his father he looked to his pokémon.

"Thank you so much Dad!"

With that, Brendan began to walk up the porch stairs of his new home, the smile still bright on his face.

"Hey, hold on there tiger," his father started, grabbing his son's shoulder and turning him around, "I think I'll break it to your mom first, okay?"

"Okay!" Brendan said, putting Poochyena down and sitting on the first step.

As his father went into the house, the small dog took a seat next to his owner.

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The professor entered the house and went up the stairs to see his wife going to and from the closet, organizing the clothes.

"Dear," he began, entering the large master bedroom.

"Yes?" she answered, her head peeking out from the walking closet.

"Well, he finally admitted it," he said putting his hands in his pockets.

"At last!" she said, coming out, and throwing her hands high in the air, "did he notice the collar I put on Poochyena? He can be so oblivious sometimes."

"Well yes he can, but that isn't what's bothering me. Usually, Brendan wouldn't hide things like this from us."

"Don't worry about it for now, he's still young, he has a lot to learn."

"True, anyway, how about I take us out to dinner? I have a surprise for every one!"

"Sure that'll be fun."

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"Poochyena, I think that they already knew that you were here," Brendan said as he stroked his sleepy pokémon on the side, "they even gave you a collar, I can't believe I didn't notice that! But, you have to be a good boy. I don't want to give you up. No repeats of today, alright? No more running away."

Brendan sighed and looked up at the bright stars above him. He smiled and continued to stroke Poochyena.

"Hello!" a voice said.

"Hm?" Brendan looked down to see May standing in front of him, a bright smile on her face. Her hands were clasped behind her and she was swaying back and forth "Oh, hi May, what's up?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing, I saw you outside talking to your dad, and I thought something was wrong."

"No, I'm fine…so what happened to your Skitty?"

"She's sleeping in my house, my mom loves her! The moment my mom saw her she looked so happy, and we just finished playing."

Brendan laughed and May took a seat next on the opposite side of Poochyena. There, they both admired the stars together.

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Brendan's mom looked out the window to see two children sitting on the front porch looking at the stars with a sleeping Poochyena in between them. She smiled and turned back to her husband.

"He already made a friend. How cute is that?" she said excitedly.

"That's good," Professor Birch said, smiling as well.

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"What city or town did you come from?" May asked, looking at Brendan.

"Well," Brendan began, taking a deep breath, "I'm originally from Goldenrod City and the first place I moved to was Lavaridge Town. Then after a year, we moved to Mossdeep City. We lived there for another year, and then we moved to Fortree City. We only stayed there for two months. We moved to Dewford Town and vacationed there for three months. We lived in Pacifidlog Town for a month. Then we stayed in Vandanturf Town for six months. Then, only this year, we moved to Sootopolis City, Mauville City, Rustboro City, Petalburg City, and finally…here."

May's eyes were shocked, "What kind of person moves that many times in only four years? Why do you move so much?"

Brendan sighed, "My dad is a Pokémon Researcher, and he observes pokémon in different places for his research. And not only that…but my mom always wants to be with him, so I have no choice."

"You must be so lonely sometimes, living in places for such short times…do you have any time to make friends?"

"No, not really, I try not to make any, because I've learned that it hurts to leave someone that was your best friend."

"Oh, I see."

May felt bad for Brendan, almost his entire childhood was spent with no friends. "How long have you and Poochyena been together?" she asked, petting the pokémon behind the ear.

"Poochyena and I have been together for about a month or so, which is really long for me."

May laughed, "That's good that you have him, but you have me too."

Brendan looked at her and smiled. All of a sudden a voice called out, "May! It's time for dinner!"

May looked over to him and smiled again, "Well I'll see you tomorrow!" With that, May skipped away happily, waving back as she did so.

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Brendan sat on his front porch alone, looking at his Poochyena while rubbing his side. Without warning, both of his parents emerged from his house.

"Brendan, come on, we're going out for dinner," his mother said, a happy look on her face.

"Okay, hold on," Brendan said, picking up Poochyena and going back into his home.

After three minutes, Brendan came out again, and the family went to the closest diner.

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Brendan sighed as he quietly observed the diner's menu. His eyes scanned the pages; he knew that his parents were looking at him. He didn't know why, but he felt awkward as he sat there. It felt as if he hadn't spent a lot of time with his parents. Finally, deciding their meals, they waited for their food to come.

They watched their son as he simply sat there, uninterested with the whole ordeal. They had realized a change in him every since he had made a good friend in Vandanturf Town and they had to move so suddenly. It was the only friend he had made ever since they had lived there and every time they looked at Brendan, the noticed that he was never truly happy. They knew that they had to make a change in order to make to their only son happy. Looking at him was never so depressing until their moving schedule went 'out-of-whack'.

The two parents looked at each other and back at Brendan, and at the same time, their food arrived.

"Brendan, we have some very good news to share with you," his mother started, putting a fork into her salad that had just arrived.

"What's up mom?" he said, poking his meal, not hungry.

"Well," Brendan's mother said, "your father and I have decided, that we love this new area. In fact, the moment we got here, we fell in love with the town and," the parents both looked at each other and back at Brendan.

"We are making this our permanent home!" they said at the same time.

Brendan's head quickly shot up and he stared at his parents in awe. "What?" he asked surprised, "are you saying that we're gonna live here from now on? No more moving, just one place and one home?"

"Yes, yes and yes," his father said, "I found a permanent job here as a Professor at a new lab that isn't very far from our home. In fact I can even walk there!"

"Isn't that great honey?" Brendan's mother asked him.

"Yeah," Brendan said, "_Finally," _Brendan thought_, "We're actually settling down. This means that I can live a normal life, and get to make friends here." _

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please tell me what you think by PRESS THE MAGIC BUTTON!**


	3. Suspicions

**n the beginning of this chapter, May and Brendan are finishing up a lesson in their school. Yes they have uniforms. For girls, a white short sleeved polo (w/ school insignia on the small shirt pocket on the left side), and a tan and blue plaid skirt. For boys; a white short sleeved polo (w/ school insignia on the small shirt pocket on the left side), and tan and blue plaid shorts. And… girls can wear loafers with knee highs…or at least May does. And boys can wear tan and/or blue sneakers, tennis shoes, etc. Its spring going to summer and they have to dress according to weather…no duh. Lol! :D**

**I introduce you to two new four new people in this chapter, although one isn't as important as the other three…sorry Ms. Jenson :[ Anywayz, the other three…I'm sure that you know from the game, and anime as well. And two of the new characters I used the Japanese version because I preferred the Japanese names over the American ones…sorry. And, I changed the name of the other…but don't worry, the names are very close related. I just wanted you all to know that. :]**

**(A/N: IN this chapter, a pokémon and one of the new characters have a stare down! And the reason I point this out is because if you look at a foreign dog straight in the eyes, they think that you are challenging them…you'll find out who in the chapter...that is my informational tip of the day! ^_^ he-he!)**

**Definitions:**

**Rind****: (noun) the outer coat of a watermelon, orange, etc. ( word only used once)**

**Oh and by the way, in case some of my viewers are wondering…Brendan and May do get older as the story continues. Also, another important fact is that Brendan's Poochyena is shiny. In case you don't know what that means, it means that he is a different color. AND, the most exciting part is coming closer and closer as well! So I do hope that you enjoy the third part of my story!**

_**:] Pandawriter95**_

**New Town: Part Three- Suspicions**

**-One Month Later-**

"Okay kids I'll see you next week," Ms. Jenson said, "don't forget to do your essays, and remember that we have a test next week as well… All right that's all I have for the day so… dismissed!"

The children sighed with relief as they heard that magic word. The classroom erupted with chatter as they all began to pack up their belongings. Chairs squeaked as they rubbed against the beige tile floor. Footsteps echoed throughout the room as kids walked around to talk to their friends and go home. It was the end of the day and the weekend awaited them all.

"Brendan," May called out as she made her way over to his desk. May sighed as she saw that his head was leaning on his hand and that his eyes were closed. Rolling her eyes, she patted him lightly on the shoulder. "Hey sleepy, wake up."

Brendan let out a snore and May grunted with annoyance. Smirking, she quickly knocked his arm over causing his head to crash down on his wooden desk.

"Ow!" he cried. Jerking his head up, he looked around alertly, "what the? What happened?"

Looking up, he saw May glaring at him. She shook her head and sighed. She clasped her hands behind her back and swayed back and forth. Putting his hand behind his head, he responded with his naturally husky voice.

"H-hey May," he said as he got up and stretched lightly. He smiled at her innocently thinking it would soften her fury.

"How was your day in school?" she asked, picking blue fuzz off of her white polo, clearly not affected.

"Uh," was all Brendan could say before May burst out.

"Oh wait, you were asleep through most of it…so you **wouldn't** know! You should be ashamed!" Then she turned around to go, her pig tails whipping him in the face.

Brendan inhaled sharply through his teeth as he saw her storm out of the classroom. He quickly packed up his belongings and put on his backpack. "Hey, May wait up!"

Finally, after spying her walking down the dirt trail alone, he ran after her and took his place by her side. "Look, I'm sorry for falling asleep, okay?"

"Well that's what you said yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that," she responded, not making any eye contact with him.

He thought about the situation for a bit, trying to find the words that would lead to forgiveness. _Can't find the words…oh well; time to use my secret weapon!_

May finally looked at him, wondering why he was so quiet, and she wished she hadn't. There, looking at her was Brendan's 'puppy-dog' face. His sad, mahogany eyes glistened in the sunlight, and his silky jet black hair gently fell into his face. _Dang you_, she thought.

"Why have you been falling asleep in class?" she asked, defeated.

"Well…it's not a big deal really," Brendan said running a hand though his usually messy yet wispy hair.

"Tell me," May ordered, upset that she had fallen for his trap.

"Well," Brendan started, a bit happy that May was talking to him, "there's this new man that works along with my father as an aide and," he paused, "let's just say he doesn't look very…welcoming. It's hard to sleep when there's a weird dude living in your house."

May looked at him and frowned, "What does he really look like?"

"Um, he's taller than my dad, he has longish black hair that looks red in the light, and he always dresses in black. In a way there's something about him that worries me. He's really suspicious, but he has to stay with us for a month or two and I-I just can't come to trust him."

"I see…that's not a very good situation. Does your dad know how you feel?"

"No, how can I tell him? My dad compliments this guy on everything! He always says how clean his work space is, or how efficient he is. Even the fact that he knows about pokémon fascinates him! It makes me sick! And every time my dad isn't around, his whole aura changes."

"What's his name?" she asked while adjusting her bag.

"His name is Maxwell Maguma…I think that's a really weird name by the way. His whole self is weird and questioning. I really **do not** like him."

May thought for a moment and not finding anything more to say, she changed the subject. "I-isn't your birthday in two weeks?" she asked a smile blossoming on her lips as she looked at him.

Brendan frowned, "um… yeah you remembered?"

"Of course I remember! How could I forget the birthday of my best friend, especially if its three days right before mine?"

"Awesome," Brendan said, "Maybe we can travel together during our journeys."

"Hey, yeah…that's true! I always wanted to travel the region and discover new things! The experience will be even better when someone's there with me."

Finally, the pair arrived at their homes. Brendan waved and smiled at her. _Success_, May thought happily, _at least he can be a bit happy when he's home._

"Well, see you tomorrow," Brendan said as he walked up his home's porch stairs.

May waved back smiling at him, "Kay, bye-bye!"

**One Hour Later**

**- Brendan's House-**

Brendan leaned over the desk in his room; he was working on one of those 'questionnaire' essays. His hand was knotted in his hair and he was tapping the end of his pencil on his desk, frustration clear on his face. Poochyena waited on Brendan's bed, his head in his paws. The pokémon wanted to play, but he knew that he would have to wait. The pup sighed and turned on his side, and he quickly fell asleep.

"This is what I get for sleeping in class…dang karma!" he said to himself. _C'mon Brendan, just one more problem! You're almost done!_

He grunted loudly and sighed, "I can do this! I bet May is already done."

**-May's House-**

May sat in her room quietly, working on her essay, and so far it was good. She reviewed all of her answers twice, and thought deeply before she wrote anything down. After reading her current answer and repeating the question for the third time, she moved on. When she reached the last question, she hesitated.

**-Brendan's House-**

Brendan hit his desk and rubbed the back of his head. He tapped his foot on the wooden floor and sighed heavily. Poochyena's head jerked up and he looked around to see Brendan ruffling his hair. Poochyena barked at him and Brendan looked back with a, 'I-will-try-to-concentrate' face. Then he turned back around and picked up his pencil again.

"This question shouldn't be that hard, it's asking what I would like my first pokémon to be. But…dang! There are so many pokémon out in the world! And I don't even know all of them! I wish I could have all of them actually." Brendan sighed and leaned back in his chair, "But," he started, getting a thought, "I already have Poochyena, and," Brendan looked at his light brown pokémon and smiled, "we're a team."

**-May's House-**

"Skitty, of course, will be my first pokémon! How did I over look that?"

Finally, May jotted down her answer and finally, her essay was finished. She quickly put it into her bag and stretched. She sighed happily and stood up. Looking across her room, she saw her Skitty curled in a ball on her bed. Smiling, she went over to her and began to stroke her soft, shimmering fur.

"Skitty, are you ready to go on an adventure soon?" May asked her pokémon. Skitty purred and her tail swayed from side to side.

"I'll take that as a yes!"

Brendan walked down the stairs, to see 'Uncle Max' sitting on the couch. Glaring at him, Brendan strode into the kitchen and went into the fridge. Poochyena followed a bit after and he growled at the man. Then, he trotted over to his titanium bowl and began to drink his water.

"Ah, Brendan," Max began, "Hello there, how was your day at school?"

Brendan frowned, _why the heck is he talking to me?_ He sighed and responded_,_ "It was good… I guess."

"Could you help me with something?" Max asked.

"What do you need?" Brendan asked taking no care in anything that came out of the man's mouth.

"Well, I have to do this assignment for your father, and I might need your help."

Brendan picked out a slice of watermelon from the fridge and raised his eyebrows, "What do you need?" The boy frowned and took a bite out of the juicy fruit. Licking his lips, he looked down to see Poochyena on his back paws begging. Brendan sighed and gave his pokémon a small piece.

"I need blue prints from the laboratory, and if you aren't doing anything, could you get them for me?"

Brendan frowned and rolled his eyes_, lazy bum_, he thought. "Fine, I'll get 'em for you…I guess. Will I get anything in return?"

Max raised his eyebrows, "Well what is it that you want?"

_For you to be gone_, the boy thought. Brushing the thought away, Brendan finished the rest of his snack and tossed the rind into the trash, "eh…never mind."

"O-okay, well thank you Brendan," he said as an awkward smile passed his thin lips.

As Brendan walked out of the house, he rolled his eyes and made his way to the laboratory. He heard the soft patter of his pokémon's foot steps and sighed. _Why can't he just get it himself? Why am I even doing this? He doesn't deserve my hospitality! Okay now… just, calm down Brendan,_he thought to himself.

He looked down to his Poochyena who was looking at Brendan. The pokémon seemed to be responding,_"It isn't the end of the world,"_Poochyena seemed to say_, "You're just getting some blue prints for the freak."_

Dropping their heads, they both sighed at the thought of the man staying in their home for another month. They both didn't like him; they felt that the man was suspicious and untrustworthy.

"What should we do, Poochyena? Should I tell Dad and Mom? What would they think?"

Poochyena looked up to Brendan and whimpered. "Hm, you think so?" Brendan said, sighing, "But it'll be hard to tell them. They seem to love that guy, and I don't know why, Poochyena." Brendan shook his head.

Finally, the pair came to the laboratory. Turning the knob, Brendan opened the door slightly. It was dark except for a glow that came from the other end of the building. Brendan frowned, apparently, his father wasn't at work. Observing a bit more closely, he saw two people leaning over a desk murmuring to each other. Poochyena began to growl, and his lips curled over his piercing teeth.

"Thugs up to no good, Poochyena?" Brendan whispered.

The pokémon continued to growl and he took a step forward. "Hold on Poochyena," Brendan said, putting an arm in front of him. "We don't want to be **too** obvious." Laughing sarcastically, he flipped on the light switch; this earned a glare from Poochyena, and a half smile from Brendan. The room automatically lit up and the figures became clear.

They were both wearing black and red school uniforms and one was a boy, the other a girl. Brendan knew that they didn't work for his father. They were in their 'upper-teen-years', and even though Brendan thought that they were quizzical, he and Poochyena believed that they didn't pose any threat to anyone but themselves. They didn't even seem to notice that the lights were on!

"Okay Poochyena," Brendan said, "I'll create a diversion and you take whatever they're looking at."

The loyal pokémon nodded and trotted along the side of the lab. Brendan smiled and knew that it was time to execute the plan. Walking over to the pair, he looked over their shoulders to see them looking at a large piece of blue graph paper. On it was a blob of a shape and small cramped writing.

"This has to be it," the male whispered to his comrade.

"But, the Boss said that it was shaped like a star, this is shaped like the Sun!" the female snickered.

"What else can it be? We already searched the others!"

"Argh! Sometimes you are so hard to work with! Fine, but if this isn't it, then you're the one that's going to be yelled at, not me."

"Whatever, we better get out of this place; I think I hear someone coming."

"Ahem," Brendan interrupted, "Um… who are you?"

They both turned their heads slowly to see Brendan staring at them. Their eyes went wide and they pointed at him.

"Ack!" They cried in unison, "Witness!"

The black haired boy rolled his eyes. He thought that these guys were just as pathetic as Max. Not only did they have weird outfits, they were as dumb as logs. Sighing and shrugging he looked at hopeless pair.

"Honestly, what are you trying to hide?" Brendan asked.

"Don't mess with us kid!" the male cried shaking a fist at him.

"Yeah," the female started, folding her arms, "you don't know who you're dealing with!"

"Seriously Kagari, be quiet and let me handle this." The young man put a hand in front of her face rudely and took a step toward Brendan. "Just get out of our way, you snot-nosed miscreant!"

Brendan frowned and all of a sudden, he dropped to the floor laughing. "S-s-snot nosed miscreant?" Brendan choked out through laughs, "what the heck? Who says that? Is that supposed to be intimidating?"

The man simply stood there shocked. He wasn't expecting that reaction. He pointed to Brendan who was rolling on the ground letting out loud bursts of laughter. "H-h-hey, y-you better watch it," he said slowly, losing his courage, "Quit laughing at me!" His brows furrowed and he slapped his forehead.

Finally, Brendan regained his composure and cleared his throat. "You have got to be kidding me!" All of a sudden he saw something trickle from the man's eye. Brendan backed away from the moment that was too strange for him to handle.

"I told you not to laugh!" he cried again, wiping away his dramatic tear.

"Sorry it's just that you are so lame, it hurts," the boy responded rubbing his side.

"O-M-G!" Kagari yelled, "this is ridiculous! C'mon, Homura, we're going."

With that she folded up the paper and grabbed her companion by the ear. Brendan waved graciously and the exit door slammed shut. _Freaks_, he thought.

"Okay, Poochyena, come on out where ever you are!" Brendan called out. Then his brown pokémon emerged from under the desk with the blue-prints in his mouth. "Good boy," Brendan said as he gently took the paper from Poochyena's mouth and petted him.

"Let's see." Brendan opened the slightly blue paper to see an object in the shape of a star. "What are those two talking about? This isn't even a shape, right Poochyena? It's more like a blob." Brendan showed the paper to his pokémon and Poochyena simply stared at it and back at Brendan. "Do you think that this is the thing that Max needed? It's called MSP. What is that supposed to mean?"

Brendan looked down at the pup and the pokémon tilted its head. "Oh well," Brendan said rolling it up and storing it into a cabinet drawer. "Too bad for him, I'm not really feeling it."

Laughing, Brendan exited the building, "Well that was a waste of time, huh Poochyena?" The dog pokémon nodded his head. "Oh, and what did you replace it with boy?" Brendan asked. Poochyena's tongue rolled out of his mouth, indicating a smile. "Oh…I see how it is, a secret huh? Alright, alright. C'mon! I'll race you home!"

Brendan and Poochyena took in deep intakes of breath as they entered their home. They were exhausted from their race and they plopped down on the couch.

"Good run," Brendan said, scratching his pokémon's side. Poochyena rolled over and his leg twitched in delight. The young boy laughed and he patted Poochyena on the stomach.

"Brendan there you are! Did you get the blue-prints?"

Brendan and Poochyena looked up to see Maxwell leaning against the kitchen counter. They both sighed. "No, I couldn't find them," Brendan said as he shrugged. Poochyena rolled back over and barked at the man agreeably. Then as Max's eyes narrowed, Poochyena began to growl at him, staring straight at him with his intense gold and blue eyes.

"I see," Max continued, looking away from the angered dog, "That's alright."

Poochyena snorted and turned back around to be petted by Brendan. Then the two got up from the couch and stretched. "Well we're gonna head upstairs, c'mon Poochyena, lets go take a nap!"

Racing up the door, Brendan and Poochyena failed to notice Max crumple a plain white piece of paper with a paw print on it.

"Geez, that guy gives me the creeps!" Brendan said as he walked over to his bed and sat at its end. Poochyena yawned sleepily and crawled over to his own bed next to Brendan's.

Falling backward, Brendan closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep. Poochyena yawned again and stretched. Looking to see if Brendan was awake, he hopped on his bed and sniffed his face, he then hopped off. Poochyena sniffed around the floor and he made his way over to the room's window. He hopped on two small boxes, using them as steps to get on top of the desk. Looking out, he saw the two weird people from the lab walking away from the peaceful town.

His eyes narrowed and he growled quietly, not wanting to wake up his owner. Shaking his head, he jumped off. Landing gracefully, he shook his body, causing his brown fur to stand up. Finally, he made his way back to his bed to take his nap.

**Did you like it? Was it good? Well I would love to know what your thoughts were! Sooo…feel free to review…please! All compliments and criticisms are accepted. They will help me in my writing. So please…PRESS THE MAGIC BUTTON! ;]**


	4. Falling

**Hello my wonderful viewers! I just wanted to thank you all for your reading my story! I would like to give a personal thanks to those who reviewed my story as well; Animetor21 (who responded on my account…lol), Raine292, Heatman1991, and Blake Wilson. And as for all of the other viewers…don't be afraid to review! I love reviews and I listen to them. I like to hear your opinions and tips that will help me continue. It doesn't matter how long or short it might be… it's just nice to know that someone is willing to take the time and write a something to tell what they think. Soooooo yeah…**

**(Well…one of my longest parts so far…^_^) Anywayz…ENJOY PART FOUR! ;]**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**New Town: Part Four- Falling**

**-Monday-**

"This just in!" a platinum blonde haired man on the plasma screen declared, "We currently received note that an unknown island has mysteriously appeared on the 'Land Radar'! Pokémon Rangers are on the look out to see what is behind this strange event. That's all for now, tune in at five o'clock to receive more updates on this seemingly 'man-made' island!"

May sighed and shut off the television. "That is so exciting," May said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. Sighing, the young girl got up from the living-room couch and stretched. She rubbed the back of her head and went back up the stairs to her room.

Opening the door, May's Skitty slid past her and hopped on top of the fluffy mattress. She circled on the bed and meowed. "No, Skitty, I can't go back to bed. I just woke up, and I gotta get ready, okay?" The pink pokémon purred and lay down, snuggling against a stuffed animal. "You have it so easy," May laughed, walking into her bathroom. She looked into the mirror and snorted at the reflection.

May's hair was sticking up in random places, and it looked like it grew bigger. Laughing, she grabbed her brush and began to smooth out her incredibly knotted hair. Finally, after a ten minute battle, the shoulder-length strands were smooth and silky. May then walked into her closet and got out her school uniform.

Slipping on her clothes, she went back over to her bathroom and used two blue ribbons to tie her hair up into two, perfect pig-tails. Observing herself at every possible angle, she nodded satisfactorily. Walking out of her bathroom, she went over to her drawer and pulled out a pair of beige knee high socks. Sliding them on, she gestured to her Skitty to come down stairs with her.

**---------------**

May sat down at the table and ate her bowl of Pokèos alone. She quickly gobbled down her last bite and washed the porcelain bowl in the sink. Then she stormed back up the stairs to brush her teeth. May was about to go back down the stairs and leave, but something *clicked* in her mind.

"Something's…missing… I need… my bag!" she shook her head and picked up her bag from the side of her desk. Slinging it on her shoulder, she ran down the stairs. Her pokémon followed her, meowing after every step. May walked over to the door and sat down to put on her loafers. The pink pokémon purred and licked May's cheek.

"You know the schedule Skitty," May started, "it's a school day, and I gotta go. Don't worry I'll be back."

Skitty whimpered and her ears went back and her tail went down. Then, the pink pokémon laid down and put her head in between her small, tan paws. She meowed again and tilted her head sadly. "Oh, Skitty you're such a drama queen." May gently placed a hand under her pokémon's chin and stroked it. "I'll see you later Skitty." May then got up and opened the front door, "Mom, I'm leaving for school! See you later!"

With that, May shuffled out onto her porch. Then she turned around to lock the door. Facing forward again, she put her key into her bag and walked down her porch stairs. May smiled to see Brendan leaning against a tree listening to his red IPokè.

Tiptoeing behind him, she quickly poked one of his sides. Brendan frowned and removed one earphone from his ear. Turning around, he saw May standing behind him, "Oh, good morning May!"

The girl frowned and poked one of his sides again. All he did was stare strangely at her, "What are you doing?" he asked, as she poked his sides repeatedly. He sighed while he packed up his music player and stuffed it into his back pack.

"You know," May began as she began to walk towards the trail to their school, "you are the only person who doesn't jump up, yell, run away, or laugh when I poke them on the side. Oh… and good morning to you too, Brendan."

"Hm," the boy thought, putting his hands into his pockets as he followed her, "I'm not ticklish on my sides…any way, anything interesting happen?"

"Other than a mysterious 'man-made' island appearing on the map, and finding out that we have a 'Land Radar'… everything's pretty normal."

"Oh, I saw that on the morning paper…but it isn't as exciting as **my** news!" Brendan jerked his thumb to his chest and smiled an ear to ear smile.

"What might that be?" May asked, clutching the strap of her bag.

"You may not have ever guessed but…that Maxwell Me**gay**ma dude quit yesterday!"

May burst out in laughter and held her stomach. Then after a few moments of laughter, she looked at him to see a serious look in his eye. "Wow, you aren't lying."

"Of course I'm not lying!" Brendan said, throwing his arms in the air, "Why would I lie about the best thing that has ever happened to me!? That man is gone! And I don't know why…but who cares? Poochyena and I got our full sleep last night, and we're just as happy as a Skitty with a ball of yarn!"

May laughed at him as he started to dance as he walked next to her. She shook her head, "You are so silly!"

"Thanks," Brendan replied waving a hand at her, "I'm just happy that I don't have to keep on turning around to see if someone's there."

He smiled at her and put his hands behind his head. May was glad that Brendan seemed so care-free. She was happy that he was happy, and that he wouldn't fall asleep in class anymore.

**---------------**

**-Pokè School- **

Brendan leaned back in his desk and picked up his pencil. Boredom took over him and he began to draw a picture on a plain piece of paper. "Hey, what are you doing?" someone asked.

Brendan looked up to see May standing over his desk. She held her chin with a check made by her thumb and index finger. She tilted her head causing her bangs to gently fall into her face. He shrugged and started to shade it in quietly, "doodling."

"What is it supposed to be?" she asked politely, clasping her hands behind her back.

"Well," Brendan started, pointing to a wriggly rectangle shape on his paper, "this is supposed to be a tower that took a long time to build, and this-" he said, pointing to a wide eyed, sad face "-is it's builder. You see, the tower is going to fall, and the person is sad to see hard work go down the drain."

May frowned at her odd friend and laughed. "You're funny Brendan…Ms. Jenson must be late again, I wonder what's taking her so long…well I better get back to my seat. See you after class, buddy."

Brendan laughed and waved. May turned slightly and gave him a small salute while winking. Finally, she took her seat across the room.

Suddenly the chatter stopped as soon as their teacher, clad in blue, shuffled into the classroom, "Good morning students! How was your weekend?" Her arms were crammed with a large bundle of protruding papers. The large tower was about a third of their teacher, and she had to lean back a bit to handle all of the papers.

"Good morning Ms. Jenson," the small class of fifteen responded as they stared at their teacher having a hard time. No one was particularly enjoying watching her struggle, but no one was awake enough to help her.

"Well then, how about we get started?" she said as she placed the pile on her desk with a loud thud. She sighed loudly with relief as the stack was put down. Rolling her aching shoulders once, she smiled reassuringly to the class. Walking in front of her desk she was about to speak when, all of a sudden the large mound of paper began to wobble, and tilt, and waver.

All of the children pointed in horror as the tall pillar crashed to the ground. Ms. Jenson's eyes widened as she turned around slowly to see all of her papers scattered about the floor. All of a sudden, a feeling of rage emitted from their teacher. They all shrunk down in their seats and they watched as her figure shook and her arms came up to grab her hair. Shaking her head and pursing her lips, Ms. Jenson dropped her arms and pushed the papers out of her way with her foot and went up to the board. She took a deep breath and slowly picked up a piece of chalk.

Then, after taking in another shaky breath of air, Ms. Jenson turned back around. The class stared at their teacher worriedly; she looked like she was ready to kill. She put on her best smile that looked more like a grimace. "Like I said before," Ms. Jenson said, looking at all of her students' shocked and scared expressions, "let's get started." All of a sudden, the frustrated teacher walked next to the trash can and dusted off the fine, white powder in her hands.

**---------------**

"Okay students, to conclude the day, please pass up the worksheets that you had to do this weekend. I do hope that you did them; they are worth almost half of your grade. And, this is the assignment that determines part of your graduation."

All of the kids began to shuffle around their backpacks. Finally, the questionnaires were passed up. But some one was still ruffling through his bag.

"Brendan, where is your paper?" Ms. Jenson asked as she walked over to his desk to see him panicking.

"U-u-uh, I did it Ms. Jenson, I swear. I put it in here on Friday." Brendan clutched his head and ruffled his hair, a habit he did when he was frustrated. "Poochyena," he whispered angrily to himself.

"Excuse me?" the angered teacher asked as she folded her arms.

"M-m-my pokémon, he," Brendan paused, "he…replaced it?" Brendan didn't mean for it to come out as a question, but he wasn't sure if it was true.

"What? Brendan, do not lie to me."

"I-I-I'm not lying; I promise you that I did it. But, you see, um…my Poochyena…uh."

Ms. Jenson sighed and rubbed her temples, and then she looked at him and shook her head, "Brendan…we need to talk, stay here, dismissed!"

The children simply stared at the situation; all wondering what was going to happen. "Dismissed," the teacher said again, turning around to face the others. They all then jolted up and began to pack up their belongings. They didn't want to face the fury of their teacher. And in their minds they all wished Brendan good luck.

Finally, after watching the children pack up for less than one minute, Ms. Jenson turned back around to face Brendan. May looked at Brendan and he shrugged sadly. Then, she quickly got out a piece of paper and scribbled on it with a marker. 'I'll go and check for you. I'll be back,' it said. Brendan frowned, but before he could object, May zoomed out the door.

**---------------**

May sprinted back to their homes, and finally, she reached Brendan's house. She rang the doorbell and almost immediately, Brendan's mom opened the door, Poochyena at her feet.

"Oh, hello May. What brings you here?" she asked kindly.

"B-Brendan forgot something and I ran back to get it," May said, trying to catch her breath, "you see, he got in trouble because he forgot one of his homework assignments and I wanted to get it for him."

"That boy," Brendan's mother said, moving out of the door way so May could enter, "he is so lucky to have a friend like you May."

"Thanks? And… I'm sorry for intruding like this, but may I go into his room?"

"Of course."

"Thank you!" With that, May ran up the stairs and burst into Brendan's room. His room was surprisingly clean. Nothing cluttered the floor, and his bed was fixed. There were no posters on the wall, and there was only a bed, a desk, and a computer. "Wow," she said as she walked in, putting her bag on the wood floor. She then shook her head, _no stereo-typing May_. Poochyena followed after her and tilted his head.

"Poochyena," May started, "do you know where Brendan's paper is?"

The pokémon simply stared at her, and he barked. "You do?" she asked, as he began to sniff the floor of his partner. He barked again and his head went into a small white trash can beside the desk. He pulled out a balled up paper and placed it on the wood floor.

"Is that it?" May asked as she walked over to the ball. Picking it up, she opened it to see Brendan's questionnaire. It was slightly dirty and it had a bite mark and a paw print. She laughed and patted the light brown pokémon's head. "Good boy," she said as she ran towards the door.

May then galloped back down the stairs and thanked Brendan's mother. Then she raced back towards the school. The pebble trail crunched beneath her feet with every step she took. She darted past towering trees and small shrubs that stood in their shadows. As May ran, she took in small, even breaths to reach the school once more.

**---------------**

"Brendan, I am very disappointed in you," Ms. Jenson started, "Not only do you fall asleep in my class, you forget the most important assignment of the year! "

"I didn't fall asleep today," Brendan objected, looking down at his wooden desk.

"Brendan, is there something that is going on in the family or…something that causes these actions?"

Brendan frowned and sighed, "No, it's just that, my Poochyena…I think he took it out of my bag to replace it with something else," he paused and slid down in his desk. His attempt to explain the whole situation would be pointless. Brendan could see the doubt in Ms. Jenson's eyes as he told her.

Ms. Jenson sighed and sat down on a desk across from him. "Brendan," she started, "you can't let things like that happen. You have to be responsible enough to take care of your own belongings."

"I do….I finished it the same day you gave it to me," Brendan sighed.

The teacher sighed and shook her head. "You can't graduate without it Brendan…I'm sorry."

Brendan clenched his teeth together and pursed his lips. He covered his face and grunted inwardly. He didn't know what he was going to do. _I probably have to take another class!_ _Dang Poochyena! Of all things to substitute the blue-prints with he had to use my homework! Even if I tried to get it back…I couldn't 'cause I don't even know where those people are. Stupid blue-prints… stupid people in the stupid lab!_

"Pack up your things," Ms. Jenson said as she got up and walked away.

Brendan dropped his head on his desk with a soft thud. _This can't be happening; does this mean I can't become a trainer? _He waited for a while and tried to think. He wouldn't beg, bribe, or cry. None of those things were worth sacrificing his pride._ I'll have to wait…again…I won't give up. I'll have to be patient and calm. _Sighing, Brendan got up from his desk and began to pack up his belongings.

Putting on his back pack, he quietly exited the room and drifted into the cold, lonely hallway. Even as he walked Brendan could feel the anger and sorrow tearing at the edges of his heart. He couldn't stand it. He had wanted to become a trainer ever since he could walk. He didn't know that a lifelong dream could just slip away so fast. But he knew that he couldn't do anything rash to try and get what he wanted. He had to play fair and square.

He surely wasn't the only one to not graduate…right? If there was a competition for trying to play it cool, Brendan would get first place. Brendan looked down sadly and held on to the straps of his backpack. Sighing, he stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked back at his classroom. Shaking his head he closed his eyes and looked to the exit again. His mahogany eyes widened as he saw May standing there.

"Why so glum Buddy?" she asked cheerfully, hands on hips, hiding his paper behind her back. She had seen the whole scenario and she felt horrible to hide his last hope, but she wanted it to be a surprise. May wondered if he even remembered her note that she had written before she had left.

"May…what are you doing here?" he asked, his voice lifeless.

May looked at her friend and she felt like crying. His usually happy, mahogany eyes were filled with hidden sadness. She didn't understand why boys had to hide their feelings all the time. She wished that Brendan would tell her everything…not that she needed to know, she was back before anyone could say a word.

"Well," May started trying to avoid his hopeless stares, "I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." May knew that she was a bad liar, every time she wasn't telling someone the truth, she wouldn't look at them and her voice would rise in pitch ever so slightly.

"Thanks for being here, its good to see a happy face…but I've been better."

_Is he trying to crush my heart?!_ May smiled sadly at him and wrapped him in a tight hug. The pair stood there for a moment and May was surprised to feel him hug back. She felt blood rush to her cheeks as he wrapped his arms ever so gently around her. May mentally slapped herself, _no; Brendan is your best friend…nothing else. Focus on why you came here! To help out your best friend!_

"I-I found your paper," May blurted as they parted. She handed him his crumpled paper and he stared at it in disbelief. "Hurry up and turn it in," May added as a smile blossomed across Brendan's lips.

Brendan's eyes widened and he slowly took the paper, "T-thank you," he said. He felt like jumping, screaming, and laughing all at the same time. He was so happy, that he couldn't even contain himself. Brendan smiled such a huge smile that it made his face hurt. Then he wrapped May in his arms again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

After lifting her up and spinning her around, he put May down and held onto her shoulders. She smiled at him and laughed at his ridiculously large smile. He looked like he had fireworks in his young, happy eyes. Then everything seemed to stop as Brendan gave her quick kiss on the cheek.

May gasped lightly and she felt like she was flying. She knew that she was blushing like mad because her body was on fire. Her heart felt like it was going to explode. And she gulped slightly. _Oh boy…deep breaths May…deep, deep, deep breaths._ "G-g-go t-turn it in n-n-now, I'm not g-g-g-graduating w-without you."

He nodded happily and he turned around and ran back to the room to give his paper to Ms. Jenson. She frowned and took it gently, "You found it?"

"No… May came and brought it," Brendan said embarrassed at the reality of his response.

"Well Brendan… thanks to May, you can graduate," Ms. Jenson said, putting the paper into her briefcase. Brendan smiled and he was about to walk out and leave when Ms. Jenson stopped him. "Oh, and you better thank her… she deserves it."

"I will," Brendan said as he rushed out of the classroom. Opening the exit door, he saw May sitting on the steps of the small school. He ran to her pulled her into a bear-hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" he paraded again.

"No problem," May choked, patting him on the back.

Letting go, Brendan looked at her and smiled, "I can't thank you enough! Because of you, I can become a trainer!"

"Ha, that's why I did it. We said that we would travel together on our journey, and if you didn't graduate, you wouldn't have been able to become a trainer. And if you didn't become a trainer, we wouldn't be together…and… I… would miss you." May sighed and blushed, realizing what had just left her lips.

Brendan chuckled, "well…thank you again."

"You're welcome."

May took a deep breath and began walking down the last steps. "Well, we better get home, our moms might be worried."

Brendan nodded and followed her. He walked behind her most of the way. And judging by her walk, she seemed really tired. Having to travel back and forth from school, to home, and back to school must have taken most of her energy.

"Hey," Brendan started as he rushed to her side, "you seem really tired."

"Kinda, but I'll be okay," May said as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I could give you a piggy-back- ride." Brendan stopped and took off his back pack and put it on front ways instead, "C'mon, I didn't run for you yet."

May stopped and turned around to see Brendan squatting down. He smiled at her and pointed to his back. She rolled her eyes, _I am really tired…but._

"Please? I insist," he urged.

"Uh…I…um," May looked around to see if anyone was there. She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed, "fine."

**---------------**

Brendan slowly entered the town with a sleeping May on his back. She mumbled a bit and Brendan laughed quietly. Walking up the porch steps of May's home, he rang the doorbell with his nose. After a few seconds, May's mother, Caroline, opened the door.

"Oh, hello Brendan!" Caroline said excitedly.

"Hi Mrs. Maple, um…I'm just here to drop off May," he said.

Caroline laughed to see her daughter on Brendan's back, "Oh, of course, please come in."

"Thank you," he said quietly, shuffling inside. The interior of the home was very nice. There were many arches that lead to different parts of the home. And most of the wood was dark and the appliances were made of stainless steel. The carpet of the living room was indescribable. It was a very oriental rug that looked like it was smooth as silk. And on top of it was a glass table that had a beautiful arrangement of flowers.

"Um… put her down on the on the couch," Mrs. Maple said, smoothing out the tan leather.

"O-okay." Brendan walked over to the couch and gently placed May on it. She took a deep breath and turned on her side. May seemed so peaceful in her sleep. He smiled down at her and put his bag down on the floor. All of a sudden, Skitty came bounding down the stairs. She then rushed around the couch to see May lying there. Her tail swayed from side to side, and she simply stared at the resting girl.

"Thank you Brendan," Caroline said, smoothing out her apron and clasping her hands in front of her.

"You're welcome…well I better get home, I'm usually not this late, my mom might be worrying about me."

"Oh, yes…of course!" All of a sudden, Mrs. Maple rushed over to her counter and picked up a large orange envelope. "Oh and Brendan, could you bring this to your father? It's from my husband."

"Yeah, sure," Brendan said, taking the envelope while picking up his book bag off the wood floor.

"Thanks again!" she cried as he walked out the door.

"No problem."

**---------------**

Brendan walked into his home and sighed heavily. "Mom, I'm home!" he cried out placing the envelope on the granite counter. Brendan frowned to hear no response. "Mom?"

_Hm, is she not home?_ "Poochyena, come on out boy!" Brendan smiled to hear the small taps of his pokémon approaching. Suddenly, someone barked and Brendan looked down to see Poochyena sitting next to him. "Hey boy, where's Mom?"

The pokémon tilted his head and blinked. They both stared at each other and Brendan shrugged, and then Poochyena ran back up the stairs. Brendan frowned and followed the light brown pokémon. Poochyena pawed the master bedroom door and slipped through as soon as it opened for him. He barked and not soon after, Brendan entered. His mother was snoring the day away on the large bed in the middle of the dark room.

The boy laughed and shook his head. "Come on, Poochyena, let's not bother her." The pokémon nodded as they both exited the room, closing the door behind them.

**---------------**

Brendan opened the door to his room and hot air rushed past him. "Whoa," he said as he walked through the strange curtain of heat. He blinked a few times and shook his head. He unbuttoned his polo and tossed his bag on his bed. Brendan huffed and puffed towards his window and lifted it with ease. Taking in a deep breath, he leaned against the window sill and sighed. It was so peaceful outside and the lush green landscape seemed to glow as the sun beat down on the grass.

Brendan smiled and closed his eyes. "Ah," he said taking in another breath.

"Brendan! Don't lean out of the window like that! It's dangerous!" a voice cried out.

Brendan opened his eyes to see his father walking down the trail. He frowned; usually his father would stay in his lab 'till midnight. The young boy laughed and waved at his father. "Hey dad!" he cried out as he leaned out just a bit more, using his other hand to keep his balance.

"BRRRENNNDAAANNN!" another voice cried excitedly behind him.

The sudden voice startled Brendan and his other hand slipped. His upper body went out the window, and his legs flailed behind him. "Ack!" Brendan yelled as he tried to grab on to something other than air. The professor was running now. He dropped his briefcase and his lab coat sailed behind him as he rushed towards the window, leaving a cloud of dust floating as he sprinted.

"Brendan," the other voice yelled, "Stop kicking! You're gonna hit my face!"

"What?!" Brendan screamed, not recognizing the voice, "How can I not?! I'm trying to stay fricking grounded! And half of my body is flipping leaning out of the dang window!" All he wanted to do was lie down on solid ground and live.

With one hard tug at his legs, Brendan was pulled back into the room. Sadly, while being pulled in, his face hit the window sill…hard. With a loud thud, Brendan and the other person fell to the floor.

"Oh, shoot," Brendan yelped, "My face! Holy dang! Uhhh." Brendan took his hand off of his face to see blood. He winced in pain and tried to get up. Unsuccessfully, he fell back again and his head bounced on the wooden floor. All of a sudden, Brendan heard May's voice coming from outside. _Wait, if May is outside…then who is inside my room?_ Brendan opened his eyes ever so slightly to see pale green eyes looking down at him. He frowned and lifted his hand to point at the strangely familiar face thinking it would bring something up.

The lights seemed to fade and he saw three pairs of eyes looking down at him. They all seemed so panicked, and their mouths were open, screaming something. _Ms. Blue-Eyes has water coming out of her face…is that even possible? The green eyed person is checking out my wrist…he better not steal my watch…do I even have one? And the one with brown eyes looked scared. What is this black light? What the? Where are they going? Is the party over? Alright…nighty-night._

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Poor Brendan…Please review by PRESSING THE BUTTON! **


	5. Day in Town

**This chapter took unusually long and I'd like to apologize to all of those who have been chapter switches between May's and Brendan's POV and it also features some of our new character's POV as well. In case you don't know what day it is, it is currently Saturday in this chapter. In chapter four, it was Friday so it's been a bit more than a week.**

**New Town: Part Five-Day in Town**

**-May's POV- Eight Days Later-**

"Mom," I cried out as I entered my home, "I'm heading over to Brendan's house again!"

"Alright," she responded calmly as her head popped out from the kitchen, "tell him that I said hello and give his parents my regards."

Gesturing to Skitty, I nodded and headed out the door. As I made my way to Brendan's house, I was reminded of the moment we talked to him after he hit his head. When he looked at me and I could see it in his eyes…he didn't remember anything.

**.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.**

I sat on the soft leather couch, and my head was resting on my hand and I watched Brendan's door on the upper level anxiously. We were waiting for the doctor to finish his appointment with Mister and Miss Birch. It had probably been more than two hours and I felt useless and worried. I sighed and looked to my left to see the green haired boy staring at the blank television. He looked worried too, but there was something else in his eyes that I couldn't exactly put my finger on.

"So," I started, breaking his trance, "you're Wally…right?"

He simply looked at me and finally, he responded, "Um…yeah."

I tilt:ed my head and frowned at him. So far we had been together for over two hours and he hadn't even spoken to me. As I stared at him, he just looked forward and paid no attention to me what-so-ever…not that I cared! Who needs the attention of some kid who acts like you don't exist?

But boy…he was getting to me; it was like an itch that you couldn't scratch, the word that you couldn't quite say, the memory you couldn't recall, and the end of rainbow you could never reach. With a sigh, I gathered up all of my tolerance and tried to talk to him again, "So," I paused trying to find the right words to say, "Um…I heard from Brendan that you used to get sick a lot-"

I quickly put my hand over my mouth and mentally slapped myself. Why the heck had I said that? Sure Brendan did say that but…how would Wally take it? To me, it sounded like an insult or some rude thing. _Apologize! Apologize!_

"I-I'm sorry," I said as I removed my hand from my mouth, "I don't know where that came from, it-"

I stopped as I heard Wally burst out in laughter. I looked up to see tears forming at the corners of his eyes and he bent over to try and control his giggling. He grabbed his side and finally after a few moments of merriment, he stopped. Wiping a tear from his cheek he looked at me with happy eyes.

"Yeah, that's true…I was born with health problems a weak respiratory system so I couldn't exactly go outside. But all that changed when I met Brendan, he always used to tell me that I shouldn't worry about germs and stuff like that. But don't worry about it…that kind of thing doesn't bother me."

I blinked a few times and nodded. How could I think that Wally was some sort of anti-social pariah? He seemed like a really nice guy and I felt bad for what I had thought. With a sigh I started again, "I really am sorry for that, it just popped out and…I'd like to start on a clean slate." I took a deep breath and nodded to myself, "My name is May Maple and I like flowers."

Wally chuckled and nodded to himself, "I'm Wally…but you already knew that."

We laughed and shook hands. All of a sudden, Brendan's door burst open and the doctor, and Brendan's parents stepped out, closing the door behind them. Wally and I quickly looked to the trio with worry and curiosity. After exchanging a few inaudible words with each other, I could see tears in Mrs. Birch's eyes.

Finally, we watched as the doctor walked out of the home with his head down. I could feel the depression in the room and it felt as if gravity was becoming stronger. Everything was silent as Professor Birch wrapped his arms around his sobbing wife. I wanted to ask what they had seen, what had happened in the room? What happened to Brendan? Was it so bad that it would cause his mother to cry? I had to know! But…did I have a right to? Would it be okay if I asked?

I tried to put myself in Mrs. Birch's position, but I couldn't because I didn't know what happened to Brendan. If it did cause tears and sorrow, then that…that hit on the head was worse that I thought. I was about to speak when I found that I couldn't. I found that a lump had formed in the center of my throat and nothing could come out.

"Is he okay?" I turned towards Wally who was looking up at the pair. Professor Birch simply closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"Talk to him," he said quietly.

Wally looked to me and sighed. Gesturing to me, he began his slow assent up the stairs. I followed him and finally, we entered Brendan's room.

He was lying on his bed, motionless, simply staring at the ceiling. Wally and I shuffled over to his bed and sat down on the two chairs that were there. We looked at him for a moment waiting for him to say something.

"B-Brendan," I started as I slowly reached over to touch him.

Ever so slowly, he turned his bandaged head and looked at us. I gasped at the look in his eyes, the mahogany orbs were emotionless.

"Who...are you?" he asked. His innocent voice rang in my ears and the room seemed to be spinning. I took my hand away from him and covered my face. I clenched my teeth together and before I knew it, tears came rushing out of my eyes.

This couldn't be real! I felt like I hated him for those three words. He hadn't done anything wrong, and I didn't know why I felt this way, I had no reason to hate him. Why did it have to end up like this? I realized then, that no matter what, I would have to help him…but, would I be able to see him like this everyday?

I knew that something had to be done…now. Slowly, I wiped away my tears and swallowed hard. "Hello," I started with my shaky voice, "M-my name is, May Maple. I'll always be here for you, so if you need help, just call my name, okay?"

Brendan sat up and smiled sweetly at us, even though he didn't remember much, he was still the kind and caring Brendan I knew and loved. "Hi May."

**.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.**

Brendan took off school four days after that, I had to bring him all of his homework and teach him how to do some of the things. The good thing is, when I told him about the school, he would remember some our classmates and the old assignments we did.

But, I have to say, Brendan had improved dramatically since then, he remembered Wally and me, he remembered his parents and Poochyena too. He even recalled some of his childhood; I didn't know that he would heal so fast, I thought it would take months on end…and I was glad I was wrong. Even though we still had some work to do, he was improving, and knowing that, I can't help but smile.

Skitty and I climbed up the porch stairs of the Birch residence and was about to ring the doorbell when suddenly, the door burst open. I was a bit shocked at first, but when I saw who was standing there, I smiled.

"Good morning Mrs. Birch!" I said cheerfully.

"Oh," she said as she laughed, "hello May, are you here to see Brendan again?"

"Yup!"

Smiling, Mrs. Birch let Skitty and I into her home. "You came at the perfect time, May," she started, "I was just about to go into town to buy some groceries. Wally and Brendan are upstairs; they were actually waiting for you."

"Okay, thank you Mrs. Birch." I smiled back and headed up the stairs. I charged into Brendan's room and smiled brightly, "HEY GUYS! I'M HERE!"

As I opened my eyes I gasped to see Wally on the floor and Brendan and Poochyena laughing at him. Playing cards were scattered everywhere and slowly, Wally rolled over, revealing an unconscious Ralts. "Ow," Wally whined, "hey May, don't you ever knock? If you did I would have been able to move away from the door. You are outrageously strong."

"You nailed Wally right in the back of the head!" Brendan cried as he and Poochyena rolled around hysterically.

My shoulders dropped and I laughed, "S-sorry Wally."

The green haired boy slowly got up from the floor and rubbed the back of his head. At the same time, his Ralts shook her head and glared at me. Skitty and I simply stared at the scene and shrugged.

"Hey, anyway," I started as I picked up one of the cards from the floor, "what were you guys doing?"

"Well, we were playing Go-Fish before you hit Wally during his turn!" Brendan laughed and he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

"Laugh all you want, Brendan," Wally said as he folded his arms, "you're probably just happy that May interrupted the game before I could win!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Brendan said as he waved a hand at his friend.

"Okay guys," I interrupted, "calm down, how about we go outside and enjoy the weather?"

"It's too hot out," Wally whined.

"Hm, I like air-conditioning," Brendan added.

"You guys are lazier than a Snorlax! Now, c'mon you can't stay cooped up here forever!"

I grabbed both of their arms and began to drag them out of the room. I was halfway down the hall when I had to stop. _These guys are heavier than they look!_ I dropped their arms and held onto my knees.

"You," I huffed, "you have to help me out."

Suddenly, Mrs. Birch called out from the kitchen, "Wally, Brendan, May, would you come to town with me? I realized that I need a lot more things than I thought!"

Slowly a smile blossomed across my lips and I glanced back at the boys who were beginning to get up. _What a perfect opportunity! _I cleared my throat and smiled sweetly at them.

"We can't just leave your mother out there to struggle with the groceries, Brendan. We should be nice, helpful children and help out a needy mother who asked for our help."

Brendan and Wally looked at each other and sighed. They shrugged and I laughed with victory.

**-Brendan's POV-**

Wally, May, and I walked through this so called, Odale Town, and passed stall after stall. The three of us trailed behind, and held all of the grocery bags while my mother roamed around freely and looked at the different foods.

I looked across Wally to where May resided. Apparently, she was enjoying this shopping trip. She had a large smile on her face and she kept glancing at all of the different novelty stores. All of a sudden, we heard a cry from in front of us. I immediately looked forward to see that my mother was arguing with another woman over an unnecessary spring hat.

"Oh, boy," May sighed, "my mom had a moment like this once and it didn't turn out too well. I'll go and hold her purse."

With a grunt, May pushed her bag into Wally's arms and joined my mother in her battle. I laughed as my mom handed her earrings and purse to May, while the other women handed her accessories to her daughter. Neither woman seemed to care that the hat they were going to fight for was lying on the ground, defenseless. And…was May supporting this, or was she just going to watch as two ladies fought over a silly hat?

"Can you believe her?" Wally asked as he turned away from the hollering.

"Who?" I asked as we sat on a bench far away from arguing women.

"Stuffing her bag into my hands," Wally mumbled, folding his arms, "who does she think she is?"

I laughed at him and shook my head, "you shouldn't let that kind of thing bother you."

"I know, I know."

Wally leaned back against the bench and sighed. I didn't understand the relationship between the two. They usually teased each other and I never really understood why. I folded my arms and closed my eyes, trying to tune out all of the yelling we heard from across the grass. I never knew that a summer hat could cause so much…squawking.

Finding nothing much to do, I tried to recall my memories by 'calming my brain', an exercise May told me to do in my free time. Surprisingly, even though I had no idea where she got it from, it worked. _Calm your thoughts, and focus on regaining your memories._

Suddenly, I remembered something! Yes, the technique was a success! Apparently, there was a man who worked for my dad but then he quit. I couldn't exactly remember his name or what he looked like, but something about him I didn't trust.

Sighing, I opened my eyes to see that Wally had fallen asleep and the blabbering had calmed down. My mother and the other shopper were shaking hands because, apparently there was a new shipment of other hats. Other ladies surrounded the new batch of bonnets, trying them on, and enjoying themselves. Sadly, the hat that was previously fought over was now on the ground, torn to shreds by perfectly manicured nails.

May was laughing happily with another girl as she tried on a light blue hat that matched her eyes. Mom was admiring an exotic headpiece that another lady was wearing. It looked like a somewhat like a scene from a movie.

I was distracted from all the merriment when I saw a man walking past the parade. He was clad in black and his hair seemed to be glowing red. The man seemed out of place in the happy town and for just a moment, he met my gaze. His eyes were cold and heartless, and as he rounded the corner, I saw that there was a red mountain insignia on the back of his clothing.

I glared at the man, he seemed suspicious, but something about him was…familiar. Curiosity getting the best of me, I forgot everything around me and followed the man.

**-Wally's POV-**

My head jerked up and I looked around, had I fallen asleep? It felt like days had gone by and I didn't even know where I was for a moment. Stretching a bit I realized that all of the yelling and hooting had stopped, instead, it was replaced by laughing and happy chatter.

"Hey Brendan," I started as I rubbed my tired eyes, "do you know what time it is?"

I turned my head to see that the spot next to me was empty. My eyes widened to an inhuman extent and I quickly looked around for a boy with black hair, shorts, and a red shirt. To my horror, he was no where to be found. _He can't just disappear! I know, maybe he went in that crowd of women over there!_

Getting up, I soon found that my neck was killing me and that my back was sore. Shaking my head I ran from the bench and looked for May in the crowd. Finally, I spotted her mingling with another girl.

"May!" I cried, "You have to help me! Brendan-Brendan's gone!"

The girl frowned at me while May simply blinked. She was probably thinking, did he say what he just said…or am I hallucinating? She scratched the outside of her ear and finally, her face suddenly lit up, May swung her head back and burst into laughter. At that same time, my mouth dropped open and I slapped my forehead, _I knew it_. Suddenly, she patted my shoulder and put her other hand on her hip.

"Okay Wally," she said sarcastically as she shook her head, "nice joke. Yeah, I understand that you like to be funny sometimes and all that jazz but, seriously, that is not funny."

I grunted and shook my head, "what the heck are you talking about? I'm not trying to be funny and I don't think that I am! I-"

"Ah," she interrupted as she put her finger to my mouth.

Shaking her finger off of my face I grabbed her shoulders and glared, "You aren't listening to what I have to say!_** Brendan**_…is…MISSING!"

May's eyes widened and she simply stared at me. _Finally, she gets it._ I let go of her shoulders and folded my arms, waiting for her to react. 3…2…1

"AAHHHHHHHH!" she screamed. All of the people looked at her with confused expressions on their faces.

"May," Mrs. Birch began worriedly, "is everything alright?"

We looked at each other with panic in our eyes. If we told Mrs. Birch what was going on, she would probably have a breakdown or worse. Not wanting to worry her, I answered, "Um, I'll take May away from here before she screams again."

"Yup," May added, "we'll be…over there."

We pointed in two different directions and glared at each other. Shaking our heads, we simply smiled sheepishly and chuckled our way to the bench. Mrs. Birch simply stared at us with a questioning expression when another lady got her attention again. Finally away from the crowd, we nodded to each other; now we had to find Brendan.

**-Brendan's POV-**

I crawled my way through the bushes to see the man standing by a river. His hands were clasped behind his back and he was holding a hat like thing, apparently he had gone shopping too, weird. He began to pace slightly and he stopped again, this time in a place where I couldn't see him. I adjusted my position to see him clearly, but this time, a pokémon was with him. According to my dad's knowledge, this was Kadabra.

I didn't even see the man take out a pokè ball and call it out. _This guy is weird, why am I even here? I should head back; this whole thing is pretty stupid._ As I turned around to go, he called out to me.

"I know you are there, boy," he started with his emotionless voice, "come out now."

My eyes widened and I looked around for something to throw at him. _Why the heck am I going to throw something at him? Run, just run and pretend nothing happened!_ I was about to make a break for it when all of a sudden, I was floating in thin air.

I was turned around to see that the Kadabra was using his psychic power to control my movements. I squirmed and tried to shake free, but it was useless. Slowly I was placed on the ground in front of the two, but the Kadabra didn't set me free.

"Hello, boy," the man started, keeping his distance.

"Who are you? What do you want with me, old man?" I asked icily.

The man chuckled and folded his arms, "you haven't changed one bit, Brendan."

I clenched my teeth and glared at him, "How do you know who I am?"

"Oh, I remember now, you lost your memory, didn't you? You don't know who I am." Slowly, he approached me and once we were face to face, the man pushed my bangs away, revealing my scar on my forehead. "Quite a scar you have there, Brendan."

"Get away from me you freak!" I wanted to dig his fist into the man's face and send him flying across the river.

"You haven't changed a bit." Shaking his head, he took the hat in his hands and smoothed out the cloth.

"You can't say anything about me! You don't know who I am! Let me go!"

"Do you feel embarrassed by that scar, Brendan?"

My eyes widened, sure I felt a bit self-conscience when people stared at it, I mean, who wouldn't be? I wasn't the kind of person who liked to show off his wounds. I looked away from the man's stares and glared at a tree instead.

Suddenly, the man put the hat on my head and pulled it over my eyes. "Hey! What the?" I pulled the hat off and realized that the man had disappeared, and that I could move again. Looking down at the hat in my hands I saw that it was kind of like a bandana with a white cotton part coming out of the top. _It…looks…pretty cool._

Blinking a few times, I placed it on my head and adjusted it until it felt alright. I felt my forehead, and realized that I didn't feel my scar anymore. "Thanks?" I looked around again and was about to head back into town when I felt a sudden pang. Shaking my head, I frowned and disappeared in the tall bushes.

**-May's POV-**

Wally and I were getting all freaked out now. Well, unlike me, he could keep a straight face and appear to be sane. I on the other hand was having a breakdown. I looked under a bench, in the grass, and in a trash-can! And the thing that bothered me the most is that I couldn't call out his name because Wally told me not to. What in the world was up with that? In all of the movies I had watched, when a person was looking for another person, they would call out their name. To me, it didn't make any sense! But then, I reminded myself that Wally wasn't like other people.

After scourging through a newspaper pile, I heard Wally call out to me. I turned around swiftly and almost lost my balance once I saw who was next to him.

"BRENDAN!" I screamed as I sprinted over to the pair.

I wrapped my arms around Brendan's neck and squeezed tight, making sure that he couldn't breathe. He deserved it anyway, running off without telling anyone where he was going, what is up with that?

"M-M-May," Brendan choked out, "l-let g-go I-I c-can't b-bre-breathe!"

Finally after another ten seconds I let go of him and wiped away my tears. When I looked back at him, he was taking deep breaths and his face was red. That's when I realized for the first time, that he was wearing a strange hat. Frowning I pointed at it and tilted my head.

"Where did you get that?" I asked.

Taking in another breath, he adjusted it and smiled, "I actually don't know, but it reminds me of one I had when I was three."

Right at that moment, Wally and I gasped. Brendan remembered something again! "Brendan, you remember when you were three?" we asked at the same time.

"Yeah," Brendan said as if he didn't know what we were talking about, "and the times when I was two, four, five, six, seven, eight, and now."

Wally's mouth dropped open and he cleared his throat, "You remember everything? When is your birthday?"

"April second, and that is in six days."

"Do you remember Wally's and my birthday?" I asked.

"Yup, Wally's is March thirteenth, and May's is on April fourth, which is two days after mine."

Right at that moment, Wally and I hugged Brendan and laughed, "You remember!"

"Oh, there you three are!" came a voice. We all turned around to see that Mrs. Birch was holding all of the groceries, along with a new hat on her head. The three of us laughed and took the bags from her arms. "Thank you!" she cried happily as she stretched her arms, "now, let's head home."

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Questions, comments, concerns? Please review by PRESSING THE MAGIC BUTTON! **


	6. Nightmare

**It's been too long my lovely readers, but I finally decided to update. Forgive me for creating a gigantic ditch in the middle of my updating cycle. Also, since a year has passed since I last updated…shame. The dates within the story have been changed in order to keep up with the time and not confuse anyone. So, in the beginning of this chapter, it is currently Sunday night. **

**Thank you for being so lenient everyone! Now, enough of my blabbering, on to the long-awaited story!**

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**-Brendan's POV- **

It's been a day since we went to town and I can't help but wonder who exactly that man was. But, ever since I met him, all of my other memories returned to me, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember who **he** was. I gazed at the clock and I sighed.

However, stranger things have been going on. Okay, just one strange thing…I could hear what pokémon were saying. This abnormality I had gave me pokémon telepathy. I could hear what they were thinking as if they were speaking plain English, as if they were average people on the street.

For example, yesterday, on the way back home from town, we passed two ladies who both owned Zigzagoons. The crazy pokémon were talking about how they wish they could run in circles without being scolded. But, hearing them was automatic, the second I laid eyes on the pokémon everything else around me tuned out and I heard only their thoughts.

They had voices of their own, and I could understand them, but they couldn't understand me. And thus, this is the part where the strangest portion of my 'power', comes in. Apparently, only pokémon who are connected to me can understand what **I'm **saying. It was the strangest sensation I had ever had in my whole life.

Suddenly, I was broken from my thoughts when I heard Poochyena humming his way up the stairs, and into my room. _"Master!"_ Poochyena cheered as he hopped on my lap, and licked my face,_ "did you miss me?"_

I remained silent, and simply ruffled the top of his head. I already knew how the pokémon was going to react. Poochyena knew that I could understand him and respond to what he said. And because he knew, he expected me to answer him every single time he 'spoke' to me.

Poochyena whimpered, _"Why don't you just tell me whether or not you missed me? I can understand you now remember? By the way, it's really late, shouldn't you get to bed? You know, a growing boy like Master should try and get himself to bed early. It isn't healthy to stay up so late."_

I sighed, and placed him on my bed, turning off the light I shuffled over to my mattress and pulled the thin sheets over my body. The whole, reading the thoughts of pokémon seemed awkward. If I got used to talking to Poochyena as if he were a regular person, and people were in the room, people would think I was crazy. But what did I expect? All powers can backfire sometimes, if this was a power. So far, I thought it was malfunction in my brain that I wished would just go away.

But the first thing I had to do to even try and get rid of the power was to not use it. I figured that if I ignored the fact that I could read the minds of pokémon, this defect would just fade away. But, some part of me thought that this oddity was good, that someday, I might be able to make use of it. Yes, I would be able to become a Poké Psychic…yippee, a dream come true. I sighed and rubbed my eyes.

"_What's up Master?"_ Poochyena asked, as he crawled towards the pillow, gently laying his head next to mine, _"are you okay, you seem to be sighing a lot recently. Did you know that when you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? By the way, do you plan on falling asleep yet?"_

I shook my head under the sheets and listened to any movements in the silence. I then realized that the pokémon loved to ask questions, I understood that being a dog made him naturally curious, but sometimes he asked too many.

"_Hey, hey Master,"_ Poochyena started again, _"I know you can understand what I'm saying in my mind, but…does that mean that you can read May's and Wally's thoughts too? Don't you think that would be cool? Master, did you fall asleep yet? Master? Master? Master? Master? Master? Master? Master?"_

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance. I loved the pup with all of my heart, but I never would have guessed that there would be a point where I couldn't stand him. "Poochyena," I whispered, "I can't believe I'm 'talking' to you, but, please, at least let me try and sleep."

"_Oh!"_ Poochyena squealed, jumping up from his previous position _"You're finally talking to me! Yay! All this time I've been waiting for you to talk to me! I know you talked to me before…but its different when you can understand me. This is just so wonderful!"_

"Poochyena," I growled, covering my ears.

"_Okay, okay, I understand that you want me to shut up but, I really want to know if you can read the minds of people and pokémon, alike. Please, oh please tell me, Master!"_

I sighed, "No, I can't read human minds, and I don't think I would want to. And by the way, you don't have to call me 'Master' all of the time."

"_Oh,"_ he said as he rolled to his side, his back against mine, _"I see. All you had to do was say so. Hehehe. I'm glad that you opened your heart, even just a little bit. Good night…Brendan."_

_

* * *

_

I opened my eyes to see that everything around me was jet black. I rose from the floor and scratched my head. _What is this? _My thoughts echoed all around me and suddenly, the emptiness was a room. The walls were made of steel and the floor was patterned with black and white tiles. In front of me, a metal door fazed into view and slid open effortlessly. Then before I knew it a bright light pierced the darkness.

Unconsciously, I took a step forward, and soon, I was encased within the light. I looked around to see yet another space.

"Oh," a low voice rumbled, "I see you finally decided to come."

I looked around frantically to see a tall man standing next to me, clad in a black suit. His ebony hair was spiked back and his hands were in his pockets. "Who are you?" I asked, stepping away from him.

"Brendan," he spoke, ignoring my question, "look below us, and tell me what you see."

Frowning at him, I looked down at the landscape that stretched out under me. And what I saw was horrifying. The terrain was barren; absolutely no life existed within the surroundings. The once lively cities were in ruins, and not one pokémon was in sight. The forests were nothing but withering branches and twigs. And all over were deep gray trenches.

"W-what is this?" I gasped.

"This is the future that was never meant to be. The hell that he let loose." The man looked to me and I was shocked to find that he had intense mahogany eyes that mirrored my own. "It can be stopped, but I need your help."

"What do you need?"

All of a sudden, there was a loud bang and the man looked to me urgently. He knelt down and grasped my shoulders, "Listen to me Brendan because I don't have much time. Promise me that you'll never stray from the path we walk. All of the things that will happen in our life will happen for a reason, but never, ever forget the ones you love, even if they forget you."

Then, everything faded away and I was falling, plummeting down toward the desolate land. _This is it, I'm going to die._ The intense sunlight burned my skin, and strong winds blew dust all around me as I broke through the thin clouds. Suddenly there was an ear piercing howl tore through the sky. Slowly, I turned my head to the source to see a devastatingly large beast roaming in the land.

The monster let out another wail and the earth around it rose. My eyes widened and the colossal fiend turned toward me and the second our eyes met, my head pulsed and before I knew it, everything around me shattered into a thousand pieces.

* * *

My eyes shot open and I was gasping for air. Through the silence, I could hear my heart pounding in my chest and cold sweat was dripping down my face. Unlike myself, Poochyena was still lying peacefully asleep next to me. I looked around to see that the sun was rising and I took in a deep breath. I wiped the sweat off of my face with my shaking hands and tried to forget every vivid part in my dream. As I tried to disregard my nightmare I recalled the mammoth creature, and my blood went cold.

"P-Poochyena," I whispered nudging my pokémon, "Poochyena, wake up."

"_Pancakes!"_ he barked as he shot up from his position, looking around alarmingly, _"B-Brendan? What happened? Your skin is paper white, did you have a nightmare?"_

"Yeah," I murmured.

He sighed and sat down,_ "What did you dream about?"_

"The future." I cradled my head in my hands and tried to keep my eyes open, "I dreamt that the earth was nothing but desert. And not one living thing was in sight except this gigantic dinosaur-like thing. It was horrifying."

Poochyena yawned loudly_, "But you see, Brendan that was a dream; a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep. You're probably still shocked about your new ability. Don't worry about it, now go back to sleep, tomorrows a big day for us."_

"I guess you're right. Good night."

"_G'night."_ Poochyena whispered as he curled himself into a ball, immediately falling asleep.

Slowly, I laid back down and rested my head on my arm. I expected myself to go back to sleep, but when I recalled my nightmare; I had second thoughts about closing my eyes. _If what that man said about the future is true, and I am the only one who can help prevent it…then, what can I do? What could I do, I'm just a harmless kid who still has to graduate from Poké School…an inexperienced trainer._

_**Back then, I believed I was as good as useless, but then again, that was was what I thought so many years ago.**_

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**_**Well, I do hope that you enjoyed this rather short chapter. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, etc., press the button below. I will definitely take the time to read and respond to any of your thoughts. So don't be shy, review! :D**_**  
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